In which quarter house in Sarajevo?

You are going to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, the uncontourable Balkan, here are the areas where to sleep in Sarajevo!

The largest city and capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo is a mandatory step for any travelling visitor in the Balkans. Several times and severely slaughtered by the wars, Sarajevo was, on many occasions, the funeral theatre of conflicts that embraced the world or Europe, and whose population paid a heavy tribute.

The siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996) ended in the blood 22 years ago, yet the ravages – and repairs of fortune – are still well visible in the streets of the city (billions of bullets and shells on the facades). From a pre-war population of about 500,000 inhabitants, the city rose to 250,000 inhabitants, 395,133 people in 2013. Today, the urban area has a total of 688,437 souls. Finding accommodation in Sarajevo will be easy and cheap: the city, now pacified and safe, is reborn from its ashes, has a prosperous economic growth and its hosting offer is abundant.

Surrounded by forests and mountains, and crossed by the Miljacka River, a relaxed and hospital atmosphere now floats on Sarajevo. Sarajevo stretches from west to east at the bottom of a valley between hills that dominate it by 500 meters of altitude. Where to stay in Sarajevo, crossroads of cultures? Here is a question that will easily find answer: here is our presentation of the neighborhoods where to sleep in Sarajevo.

The Baščaršija

A pedestrian quarter dating from the 15th century – in the Ottoman era – the Baščaršija – a Turkish quarter – offers a special setting in Europe: the impression of suddenly being in the East, in the middle of medieval mosques, between past and present (Islam here, the heirity of the Ottomans, is much more tolerant and open than in the Sunni and Shiite Middle East). This is where you need to stay in Sarajevo if you want to radiate in the old city and find cheap accommodation: many hotels and hostels are scattered there. In addition, drinking a coffee, a beer or enjoying a meal on one of the countless terraces in the neighborhood is a journey in oneself, inviting to poetry, travel, recollection (how could this place so peaceful have been a horrific mass "before yesterday?").

You will not be able to miss the most authentic monuments of the city: the national library, the Sebilj fountain, the open market (Bezistan), the clock tower (Saat Kula). Don’t miss the museum in Sarajevo, where the Archduke François Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on June 28, 1914, setting fire to the powders of the First World War. The Baščaršija architecture is also picturesque, made of Turkish houses made of wood and stone. Too bad this neighborhood is so touristic! Besides, avoiding souvenir shops, many, from the neighborhood: you will pay the price quite right because you are tourist.

Centar

More to the west, is the city centre of Sarajevo, built between the old city and its modern part. Here you will find the official buildings of the country’s political institutions, the buildings of the Austro-Hungarian era, as well as all the infrastructure of our contemporary era where the Saracens and tourists are entertained: bars, restaurants, cinemas, discotheques, museums, shopping centres, refined boutiques and large multinational brands.

In addition, many parks scatter the modern district. In the centre, take a tour of the Museum of Modern Art on the banks of the Miljacka, and enjoy the green areas north of the centre: Veliki Park, Mali Park or Koševo. It is an ideal area where to stay in Sarajevo, especially if you want to get away from the hordes of tourists zoning in the Turkish quarter, or to survey the slopes of the neighborhoods adjacent to the hillside, parts and others of the river, take up the height and enjoy superb views of the city.

Main photo: Pixabay – Mirzacausevic